New Branches
by Eileen
Summary: The longawaited Mommy Mystique sequel! Hope you like it.This chapter: someone's broken into the Danger Room. Hmm, wonder who . . . CURRENT STATUS: On hold
1. Default Chapter

**New Branches**

**(Mommy Mystique Part Two)**

1. How Lance Quit His Job  
  
  
Lance hated his job. He really, really hated it. Working at the yogurt stand at the mall was not his idea of gainful employment. What was the point now, anyway? Mystique had made him get a job, and she wasn't even living with them anymore!

And his supervisor was a total creep.  
But worst of all were the customers.  
  
"I'll have the one with the nuts in it," the overly made-up woman said.  
"Which one is that?" Lance asked.  
"You know . . . the one with the nuts in it."  
Lance sighed and turned to the flavor listing. "Praline Pecan?"  
The woman looked confused. "Does that have nuts?"  
Must not kill customers . . . "Yes, it does."  
"Fine. I'll take that, then."  
"Okay. What size?"  
"They come in sizes?"

That did it. 

"You see this?" he shouted, gesturing at the sample cups tacked to the price signs. "Small, medium, large! Those are sizes! Pick one!"

Unfortunately, his supervisor overheard . . .

"Alvers, can I have a word with you?"  
Lance's temper was pushed to the breaking point. This was it. He wasn't going to be pushed around by this greasy little twerp any longer. "How about two words? One of them's 'off'. Can you guess the other one?"  
"You are in serious danger of being fired, mister!"  
"Then I'll save you the trouble. I quit!" Lance untied his apron, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it. He then shredded the ridiculous hair net that Evil Boss had made him wear. Then he turned his back and left, for good.  
The customer was still standing there. "Um . . . can I have a small?"

Back at the Brotherhood house, Wanda was trying to make dinner.  
She didn't know why she bothered; it wasn't as if anyone was ever home to eat it. She wanted to kill Pietro; he was always over at Mystique's house, playing with the twins. He did more babysitting than anyone she knew. And this was from someone who'd hated the babies before they were born.

And when he was home, he went right back out again. It was almost as if he was purposely trying to avoid her. But why would he do that?

Oh, yeah, that's right, she thought sarcastically. I have a lousy temper.

It hadn't really started until she'd moved in. All those guys just got on her nerves.  
If only there was another female here, she thought, I wouldn't feel like they were ganging up on me. And talking about me behind my back. And--  
"What'sfordinner?"

Wanda turned and saw Pietro. "Oh, so you're home."

SLAM!  
"And the way that door just slammed, so is Lance."

"I thought he was working till 10."  
"I guess they let him off early." Pietro called out, "Hey Lance, how was work?"  
Lance shouted something unprintable and stomped up the stairs.

"I hope he's eating, at least," Wanda grumbled. "Now where's Fred?"

"Probably helping himself to the breakfast aisle at the Mega-Mart," Pietro quipped.

"It's not like him to miss a meal."

Up in his room, Lance didn't know whether to celebrate being free of his intolerable job or stress out because now he didn't have a job.  
Boss Lady's not gonna like-- he thought, before he remembered that Mystique wasn't there any more.

Everything was different. Magneto was living there with them now.  
Most of the time, anyway. Currently he was visiting Charles Xavier at Xavier's institute. They were sharing tea, and at one point Magneto asked Xavier, "What do you think about this whole situation?"

"It's taken a long time to adjust to it," Xavier conceded, "but on the whole it's worked out quite well so far . . ."

"Not for me. I can't control those kids. I don't know how you manage it."

He could still remember the knock-down drag-out fight Lance had had with Pietro the day of Mystique's first visit back to the Brotherhood house.

It had started, oddly enough, with some brownies.  
  
********

"Get your hands off those!" Lance snapped at Fred.

"But I'm hungry!"  
"I don't care! They're not for you!"

"Who says so?"

"**I** say so!"

Fred grabbed Lance by the collar . . .

"Heyheyhey! What'stheproblem?"

"Lance won't let me have any brownies!" Fred complained.

"Of course not! They're for the company!" Lance insisted.  
"Mystique's not company!"  
"She doesn't live here any more! That makes her a guest!"  
"When's she coming?" Pietro asked.

"Around eight, yo," said Todd Tolensky, who was now holding Fred back--or at least trying to.

"Eight? But she won't be bringing the babies, then!"

"How do you know?"

"Cause they're babies! They go to bed early! It won't be any fun if they're asleep!" Pietro pouted.  
Lance looked at him strangely. "You mean the 'trollop' babies?"  
"Huh?"  
"That's what you used to call them. Now all of a sudden it's like you're their new big brother or something. What's going on?"

Pietro wasn't sure how to answer that.

And then Lance dropped the bombshell that started the fistfight. He said, "The way you act, you'd think they were your babies. You haven't been seeing Mystique on the side, have you?"

The last word had barely left his mouth before Pietro lunged at him in a rage . . .

Both got in several good licks before Wanda pulled them apart.  
"What are you doing?" she demanded.  
"Didyouhearwhathesaid?"   
"What? Slow down! You know I can't understand you when you rush like that!"  
"Did--you--hear--what--he--said?"  
"No, I didn't." She was tempted to hex-bolt them both right where it hurt, just to teach them a lesson.

"He said I was having an affair with Mystique!" Pietro spluttered.

Wanda couldn't help herself. She burst out laughing.  
"It'snotfunny!"  
"I'm sorry, but . . . after all your 'trollop' comments, he thinks you were--" It was just too funny to hold back. Pietro, of all people, having a fling with Mystique.

"Canwejustdropitalready?"

Lance, having narrowly escaped violent death, was inclined to agree.

"Fine," Wanda said. "Go get cleaned up, they'll be here any minute."

The twins arrived fifteen minutes later . . . and, much to Pietro's delight, Rogue came along too.

"Hey, Rogue," he said.

"Hey."

The twins looked happy, and gave Lance a big smile when he waved at them.

"Who wants to hold a baby?" said Wanda.

Pietro snatched Jared out of her arms before anyone could stop him. "C'mon, Jared, say 'Uncle Pietro rules'."

Jared just yawned.

"Hey, don't do that . . . you're supposed to say 'Uncle Pietro rules'," Pietro protested.

"He can't talk yet! He's a baby!" Rogue scolded him.

"Besides," Wanda snickered, "he really wants to say 'Uncle Pietro's a jerk'."  
"I am not!"

"Yes you are."

"Be nahce in front of the kids," Rogue cautioned them.

"I'm trying," Wanda sighed, "but he doesn't want to help."  
"Be nice to Uncle Pietro," Lance said, "and maybe he and Mommy will make you a new brother or sister."  
Lance was flat on his back before he knew what had happened.

And sporting a black eye.

It took the combined force of Wanda, Rogue, Magneto, and Mystique to keep an all-out war from brewing . . .

"Let me at him!"

The babies started crying . . . and everyone forgot what they were fighting about and rushed to take care of them.

"What's 'a matter, guys?" Toad said.

"Do they need to be changed?" asked Fred.

Sniff, sniff. "No, that's not it. Are they hungry?"

Lance looked at their bottles. "Empty. You bring any formula?"  
"Ah think so." She rooted around in the bag for the can.

Jared looked at John. And smiled.  
Mission accomplished.


	2. Exclusive

**New Branches**

**(Continued)**

"They certainly are a handful," Xavier had to admit. "How is Wanda getting along with the boys?"

"She adores the twins  . . . but she's not having such an easy time with the older boys."  
  
"Lance! Dinner!" Wanda called, for the third time.  
Fred had finally come home, and Wanda had to threaten him with bodily harm to keep him away from the food until everyone was there. Lance didn't seem to want to come out of his room.

Lance himself, meanwhile, was curled up in a ball on his bed.  
I hated that stupid job, he thought. So why am I so upset that it's gone?  
Especially since he was the one who had quit in the first place.

Wanda had had enough.  
She went up to Lance's room and knocked on the door.  
"Uh?"  
"Didn't you hear me call you?"  
"I dunno."  
"I called you three times! I've had to practically tie Freddy to a chair to keep him from eating everything, and you won't come join us! Aren't you hungry?"

"No, not really." Lance sighed.

"Are you okay?"  
Lance didn't know how to answer her. "I dunno."  
"Do you feel all right? You're not getting sick, are you?"

"I dunno . . ." He didn't know how else to describe it.

"This have anything to do with work?" Wanda asked.

"What makes you think--"  
"The fact that you came home four hours early was my first clue."

"It's a long story."

"Can you tell us after dinner?" Wanda said.

"If my head hasn't exploded by then."

"You should take something."  
"Why? It wouldn't help."

What could it be?

"Just leave me," Lance said.

He turned over . . . and found Wanda staring him in the face.   
"Gaaaah!"  
"Are you going to come to dinner, or do I have to start getting rough?" She waved her hands in the direction of his CD collection.  
"How did you get in here? I thought I locked the door!"

"Well, you didn't."

"Okay, I guess you're right," Lance said. "I'll come down, but I can't promise that I'll eat anything."

"Been that kind of day?"

"You can say that again."  
  
Fred wasn't actually tied to a chair, but he certainly felt like he was.  

"Why can't I eat?" he demanded. "I'm hungry!"

"Yeah, we're all hungry, Fred!" Pietro said. "We gotta wait for Lance."  
"Why?"  
"Cause Wanda said so."

"Oh, man . . ." Fred groaned.

"You can relax," Lance said. "I'm here." 

He sat down, but really didn't feel like eating. Or telling everyone what had happened that day. He was **mad--**but he wasn't sure with whom. Himself? The Evil Boss? Mystique? He sat there while the others ate, trying to sort it out.

"Not Dented Can Surprise again," Toad moaned.  
Wanda gave him a dangerous look. "We're low on funds again. Beggars can't be choosers."

"Besides," Lance chimed in, "you eat flies."

"Why do you always gotta bring that up?"

Before they could do any more arguing, Lance dropped the bombshell of the day on them.

"I quit my job."

There was silence for a moment. Then . . . everything went nuts.

"Yaaaaaaaay!" Toad cheered. "You're free! Free of the fascist dictator!"  
"Where did you learn words like that?"  
"History Channel."

Wanda stared at Lance in disbelief. "I thought you hated that job!"  
"I thought so too."

"So what made you change your mind?"

"People are idiots."

He toyed with his fork...

"Will you eat something before I throw a plate at you?" Wanda demanded.

"OK,OK." Lance grumbled as he shoveled some whatever in his mouth.

"And you guys think _I'm_ a sloppy eater?" Blob said to Pietro.

Magneto chose that moment to return home, and he wasn't too happy. "What's this?" he demanded.  
"What's what?"

"This."

"What?"

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Not anymore."

Magneto didn't like the sound of that. "Did they fire you?"  
"No, I quit. I couldn't take the aggravation anymore."

Must not kill Lance . . . "You're going to look for another one tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah,maybe," Lance said.

"Maybe? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Look, don't bug me . . ."

"I have every right to bug you if you're going to be irresponsible and just quit! Did you even think about the consequences of your actions?"  
"Yeah! I thought about not having that stupid job any longer!"

Must not beat Lance to pulp . . .

"What are you going to do for money now?"

"Go on The Weakest Link?" Toad suggested, trying to be helpful.

"I don't see what the problem is!" Lance shouted.

Wanda shook her head in disbelief. "Do you want to have money to buy presents for your little girlfriend?"  
"What girlfriend?"

"Kitty Pryde," Wanda said with a smirk.

"There's nothing going on between me and Kitty, and even if there were, it's none of your business!"

Even Magneto flinched at that one.

"I'm going to my room." With that, Lance stormed out.

"I'll get him a job," Magneto announced. "And this time I'll make sure he can't quit or be fired."

"Good luck," Pietro snickered.

"You're next."

Pietro's eyes practically burst out of their sockets. "But-but-but . . ."

"But nothing."

"Why do we even need a job?" Toad complained. "You got money. A **lot** of money."

Magneto sighed. "I haven't got enough to waste on you idiots!"  
"Hey! Who's an idiot?" said Fred.

Magneto threw up his hands. "Case in point."

Not far away, the twins had dozed off in their father's lap. They were each clutching their favorite toys. They looked so cute, but . . .

"Uh . . . someone wanna get these kids off me?"

Mystique heard him. "Oh, but they look so cute!"  
"Yeah, but I can't get up if they're on top of me! Can we move them without waking them up?"

"Hmmm . . ." Very carefully, she picked up Jared. So far, so good.

Then she scooped up John, and carried both babies to their crib.  
Neither one made a sound.

She tucked a small Teletubby under Jared's arm. John had a little bulldozer. (Logan preferred Bob the Builder.)

"Look at them," Logan whispered.

"Aren't they precious."  
"Yeah. Wanna make some more?"

"Now?"

"Why not?"

In their cribs, Jared and John listened to Mommy and Daddy talking about things they didn't quite get.

Big people were complicated.

Elsewhere, Kitty and some her friends from the Institute were surfing the Net looking for sites where they could get toys for the twins.

"Here's a good one!"

It was a teddy bear that played music when you pressed its tummy. And not just any music. It played classical songs, and had a mini-disc that could be programmed with music downloaded from the Net.

Kitty clicked the order button . . . at which point a window asked,"What is the name of the child for who you are purchasing this item?"

"Uh . . . does it know there's more than one child?"

Probably not, she reflected to herself. There was only one space.  
When she typed in "John and Jared", the screen prompt said 'JohnandJared is not a valid name.'

"Call the 800 number," suggested Kurt.

So she did. She spent ten minutes on hold before being connected to a representative, and another ten trying to explain the problem.

_"Can you see a pulldown menu on the screen?"_ the help desk person said.

"Yes, but it doesn't work when I click on it."

"OK, hit the refresh button on your browser and try it again."

She did so. Then she typed in 'John and Jared' again, and this time it worked.

"Now that's more like it," Kitty said. She finished ordering the toy, and said to the operator, "Thanks for the help."

"Anytime."

Elsewhere, New York Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson was furiously typing away another anti-mutant editorial in his office. It harshly trashed mutants in general, but it was particularly venomous on the subject of Charles Xavier.  
"Lousy bald-headed son of a . . ." Jameson muttered to himself, glaring at Xavier's photo. Ever since that stupid Institute had opened up, he reflected bitterly, mutants had come crawling out of the woodwork. If it weren't for them . . .  
"Mr.Jameson?"  
Great. That Parker kid would pick now to interrupt. It was like he had a freakin' radar in his camera that could detect the worst possible time to come into the office.  
"What is it this time, Parker?" Jameson grumbled.  
Peter Parker set his camera down on an empty chair and said, "Mr. Jameson, I was wondering if you'd decided who to send to the Xavier Institute for the photo essay?"  
Oh, God, why did he have to ask that now? Jameson thought sourly.

As he was speaking, the fax whirred to life.   
FUGITIVE NABBED IN HOLDUP SNAFU_  
A woman wanted for six convenience store robberies in the state of _New York was apprehended yesterday after her getaway driver apparently drove off without her. Carmen Costanza, aka Constanza Petros, aka Connie Alvers, has been sought by police for complicity in similar crimes going as far back as 1987. The district attorney vows to put her behind bars once and for all.

The getaway driver, who has still not been identified, was last seen heading toward Bayville . . .  
  
"So what's the deal with this Parker kid who's supposed to be coming to the Institute tomorrow? Logan asked Professor Xavier over the phone.

"He says he's been assigned to a story on mutants . . . more specificially, a photo essay for the front section of the Daily Bugle."  
"Oh. That rag." Logan's disdain for J. Jonah Jameson's brainchild reverberated through the phone lines.

"I hope you'll bring the twins."

Logan glanced over at his sons. "Sure, but what for? It ain't like they've got powers or anything."

"There's a surprise waiting for them in my office."

"You didn't get them toys too, did you? This house is beginning to look like the back room of Toys R Us!"

"No, not toys . . ."

"Well, what then?"

"I've been thinking about the twins' future schooling . . ."

"We've got time. They're only four months old. They can't even turn over on their own yet."

Xavier had to think fast. "I have some tests I'd like to perform. Nothing invasive, but I will need a blood sample."

What Xavier didn't mention was that the real reason he wanted Logan to bring the twins was he had savings bonds for them. He wanted to be sure they were provided for, for years to come. And they would be, according to his financial advisor; the two bonds, combined, would be worth close to three million dollars by the time Jared and John were eighteen.

Of course, there was no way of knowing how much that would buy then. But there was no helping that.

Meanwhile, Lance was filling out a job application across town.  
"Excuse me?" he said.  
The woman who'd given him the application walked over. "What is it, dear?"  
"Where it says 'Mother's maiden name'?"  
"Oh, that's just for identification purposes."  
"But I didn't know her first name! Not her real one, anyway."  
The woman didn't know what to make of this. "Well, what's on your birth certificate?"  
"That's no help. It's a fake. I know because I tried to track my parents down years ago. No luck. It's as if I don't really exist."

"Hmmmm . . ."

"Does that mean I don't get the job?"

The woman looked at him. "I'll have to talk to the manager. Wait right here."

She went into a back room.

I blew it, Lance thought.

What he didn't know was that Magneto had already contacted the management and told them to give him the job.

The last thing he wanted was to have Lance hanging around the house all day.  
  
Back at the Parker home, Peter was talking on the phone to Mary Jane Watson. She couldn't quite believe he was going to the Xavier Institute. " . . . Petey, you have GOT to be pulling my leg. Even Ted Koppel can't get in there . . ."

"No kidding! I'm still trying to figure out what I did right this week."

"Well, it must have been something pretty big."

"I wish you could come along, but . . ."

"Yeah, me too. If I didn't have to housesit all weekend . . ."

"I'll tell you all about it when I get back."

"Great. Oh, and Peter . . ."

"Yeah?"

"Try not to get in any fights with Doctor Octopus this time,OK?"

"Hey, he started it!"

"Good point."

He'd pack his Spidey suit just in case, even if he didn't plan on using it. Supervillains were nothing if not unpredictable.

(I guess it's crossover month! Evo Spidey is probably closest to the movie version. Will we have any big fights? Hey, even I don't know for sure! Keep watching this space for Chapter 3!)


	3. But They're Only Baby Mutants!

**New Branches**

**(Continued)**

_(Just a brief note: Spider-Man is not a mutant. We all know that. I never meant to suggest that he was. However, he has some questions that he needs answered, and that's why he requested this assignment. You'll find out in upcoming chapters. And now, on with the story!)_

3. But They're Only Baby Mutants!  
  
  
As promised, Logan brought the twins to the Mansion that afternoon, after their nap. 

Everybody crowded around them . . .

"They don't look much like either of their parents yet."

"They sure are cute, though."

"Maybe when they get some hair . . ."

Pietro started to make a wisecrack.

"Don't," Lance said, "if you know what's good for you."  
He was still amazed that he had gotten the job at Bayville University. It wasn't much, but he wasn't going to complain. At least he'd be making money again, and away from Wanda the psycho.

"Who wants to hold a baby?" Logan announced.

"Me!"

"I do!"

"Now hold on," Logan said. "There's only two of them, and about a hundred of you . . . you didn't mention you were getting new students, Chuck."

"There wasn't time. They showed up rather unexpectedly... not to mention all at once. I'm still working out what to do with them." 

Jared and John looked at the crowd with wide eyes.

"Oh, they're so cute!" said Kitty.

"How 'bout letting one of the new kids get a peek, Kitty?"Logan suggested.

"Okay." Kitty stepped aside, and the new students crowded around.

John and Jared looked up at a girl who had funny-looking sticky-out hair.  
  
"Ach, they're getting so big so fast." said Kurt to Kitty as the girl picked Jared up.  
"Are they doing any cute things yet?" Kitty asked him.

"Ja . . ."

"Like what?"

"Playing peek-a-boo."

"Really?"  
"Vell, I play, and zhey laugh."

The babies played with their Bob the Builder toys, while the grownups went into Professor Xavier's office to talk about those tests Xavier had mentioned to Logan earlier.

"You won't hurt them, will you?"

"Certainly not. In fact, I can probably do it without them feeling a thing." As he was talking, he pulled two envelopes labeled "John" and "Jared" out of his desk and opened them, to reveal the savings bonds he'd purchased for the twins.

"Not bad . . ." Logan looked them over, and then brought them back out to the main room. "Look what we got for you, guys."

The babies had no idea what the funny-colored pieces of paper were for. Maybe they tasted good.

"No, no," Jared heard his mother say, "those aren't for eating..."

She took the paper things away and placed them up high, out of his reach. "Here, Jared, chew on this instead." She handed him his favorite binky.

That was better, but he still wanted to know what the paper things were.

Logan blinked twice to be sure he hadn't misread the amount on the savings bonds. "This is a lot of money, Chuck. You sure you can spare it, with the new students and everything?"

"It's no trouble..."

"I wish I had a safe to keep these in. I feel like I'll lose 'em if they're just in a file somewhere."

Mystique turned to him and suggested, "Why not store them here, for safekeeping?"

Come to think of it, Mystique had a point. The security here was even better than the Pentagon's . . . and there was the added bonus that John and Jared would be less likely to chew on them if they were safely locked away. "You may be right."

Jared and John blinked and stared at the professor. They'd never seen anyone with no hair before. One of them tried to touch the top of the professor's head.

"What are you doing, silly baby?"

Jared giggled at his mother.

"Come play with your toys." She put him down on a mat on the floor, and scattered several toys around. She loved watching him play . . .

Meanwhile, Peter Parker was just getting out of a cab in front of the Institute. He walked up to the main gates.

"Um . . . hello?"

Nothing.

Then someone inside noticed that the intercom was buzzing.

"Hello?" said the voice at the other end.

Logan went over to it. "Yeah, who's this?"

"Uh....Peter Parker."

"Oh, right, from the newspaper. Hang on, I'll buzz you in."

_BZZZZ! _The gate swung slowly open . . . and Peter walked through.

"Nice place," he said to himself.

The grounds looked like a landscaper's dream. He'd seen city parks that weren't this pretty. Most of them had fewer trees, too. He was admiring a water fountain when someone came out to meet him.

"Peter Parker?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Jean Grey. The professor sent me to meet you."

She was pretty . . . though not as beautiful as Mary Jane. Still, she was a redhead . . .

"If you'll just follow me to the main entrance . . ."

"Sure. Just let me get my stuff together."

A few minutes later, Jean led Peter into the entrance hall. 

"This is the main lobby," Jean said, "where we welcome incoming students . . ."

"How many do you have altogether?"  
"We just got some new arrivals. I'd have to check, but I'd say we're well into double digits now."

"So I guess there's not much need for a big cafeteria...."

"No, but we've got a fairly big dining room."

Just then Peter saw the twins.   
"Oh, what cute babies! Whose are they?"

"Mine." said Logan, coming up the hallway to meet them.

"Are they mutants?"  
"We don't know yet," Logan said, with a look that hinted that further questions about the babies would be a bad idea.

"Oohkay . . ." Peter said. "Let's start with a little history about the school." That was probably a safe subject.

"Okay," Logan nodded. "Professor Xavier founded the school about five years ago . . ."

"I want to make one thing clear before we start," Peter said. "I will not publish the names or photos of any student without their consent. So anyone who doesn't want to be in the piece, please let me know."

There's something I didn't expect to hear from a Daily Bugle guy, Logan thought. Okay. Hang on a sec . . ."

He went into where the students were gathered. "Guys, I need your attention for one moment."

"Vhat's up?" Kurt asked. 

"It's about the kid from the Daily Bugle, Peter Parker."

"What about him?" asked Evan Daniels.

"He's asked that anyone who doesn't want their face or name in the paper let him know."

Rogue turned to Evan said, "What do you think?"

"I'm cool. I've got nothing to hide."

"Vhat about you, Bobby?" Kurt asked Bobby Drake.

Bobby looked at the ground. "My parents . . . kind of don't know. So I better stay out of it."

"Anybody else?" Logan said.

A couple of the new kids raised their hands. One of them said, "I've got family at home. I don't want them to suffer because of me."

"That's fair," Logan said. "Okay, anyone who can't or doesn't want to be in the paper can go upstairs. The rest of you, I expect your best behavior."

He didn't usually do this sort of thing, but Ororo was at her sister's, and there was no one else.

_What we need,_ he thought, _are some new teachers._

A few minutes later, when everything had been straightened out, the remaining students and faculty joined Logan back in the main lobby.

"Why don't we start," Parker said, "with . . ." He consulted the list he'd been given. "Kurt Wagner."

"Zat vould be me." Kurt stepped forward and posed. He still had his inducer activated. Now he shut it off, revealing his true self.

Peter nearly dropped his camera but he kept clicking anyway. "Wow. I've never seen . . . um, no offense."

"It's not very common," Kurt explained. "Most mutants look . . . well, normal."

"You know anybody else who can do that?" Peter asked him.

"No," Kurt said. It was only half a lie; Mystique was blue like him, but she wasn't furry, nor did she have his fantastic tail. "If you think zhat's impressive, vatch zhis!"

Ever the showman, Kurt put on a spectacular display of mid-air acrobatics. It went on so long that Logan finally had to put a stop to it.

"That's enough, Elf. Give the other kids a chance to be in the paper, too."

"Awww!" Kurt grumbled, but he turned his hologram back on. The show was over.

Several miles away, Connie Alvers was meeting with her worthless court-appointed lawyer. The last time he'd won a case, Clinton was still in the White House. 

"They want to make a deal," he said. "Turn over your, um, companion, and you'll only get three years."

"Three years?"

"If we lose at trial, you're looking at the maximum sentence. I think we should take the deal."

"That's not much of a choice."

The attorney shrugged. "I know, but that's what the D. A. gave me. Take it or leave it."

After what seemed like an eternity . . . Connie said, "Okay, I'll take it."

The attorney heaved a huge sigh of relief. He was no good at trials. Too many speeches. "I'll go and tell him."  
"Wait," Connie said. "I need you to do something for me."  
The guy gave her a look.   
"I want to know if my kid's still alive. We--we left him on a park bench, when he was three . . ."

The defense attorney didn't know how to react. "I . . . suppose I could put someone on it."

I hope so, Connie thought. 

"We made up a fake birth certificate for him when we left him. Actually, I did; Tony had already decided to leave him behind. His real name is Dominic, but the name on the birth certificate is--"

"Lance!"  
Fred's voice echoed through the Brotherhood house like a cannon shot, causing Lance to jump ten feet.

"What?"

"You told me to wake you up when it was time for you to go to work."  
"Work? What day is it?"

"Uh . . . Monday?"

"Is it or isn't it?"

Fred looked up the stairs and yelled "Hey, Toad!"

"What?"

"What day is it?"

"It's Monday, you smeghead!"  
"Oh." Fred started up the stairs, then turned back. "Hey! Was that an insult?"  
"Yeah, but it's a made-up one."  
"Oh, that's okay then." He got halfway up before it hit him. "HEY!"

(That's all for now! Next chapter will have some Rietro!)


	4. Shocks and Revelations

**New Branches**

**(Continued)**

**(Special thanks to SperryDee, who finally got me to update! And thanks to everyone who's been waiting so patiently for a new chapter. I promise the next one won't be so long in coming!)**

****

4. Shocks and Revelations 

Pietro was long gone. He stayed out of the house as much as possible these days. Mostly because of his sister Wanda . . .

What had possessed her to come home so suddenly? Was she **trying** to torture him? If she hated him so much, why couldn't she stay where she'd been all these years? It was like she was trying to punish him or something.

But he hadn't even **done** anything!He realized he was near Rogue's house. Maybe he should drop in to see her.  
Then he remembered that they were all over at the Institute for some newspaper article or something . . .

So he went there instead.

Inside the institute, the interview was wrapping up. Peter Parker thanked everyone for their time.  
"You sure I can't get a picture of the babies?"

"Oh, all right, one picture," Logan grumbled. He was as proud of his kids as any other father, but he didn't want them in danger because of the article. "Just be careful how you word the caption."

"Okay."

Logan held the babies, one in each arm, and said, "OK, boys, look at the camera."  
John and Jared held up their toys.

"I can't see their faces," Peter complained. "The toys are in the way."

Finally, however, he got off the perfect shot.

With that, Peter accompanied Jean to the front gate, where he got off a few last shots of the building. Too bad Mary Jane wasn't here.

Oh well, maybe he could show her some of the pictures, once he got them developed.

At least Dr. Octopus wasn't around to wreak havoc, and Norman Osborne was no longer around, so today would be quiet on the super-villain front . . .

. . . or so he thought.

On a rooftop not far away, the Shocker was ready to bust open the vaults of Bayville's main bank.

See, he was smart! All those other super-villains all stayed in New York and got their butts whipped, but out here in the 'burbs, there were no superheroes to do the butt-whipping . . . he had it made! Not like that blockhead Doc Ock or Norman Osborne--the big loser. No annoying Spider-Man to get in his way **here**.

"Time to go to work," he said to himself, and dashed over to the bank's front doors.

This was beyond easy. In fact . . . it was so simple it was almost boring.

Someone was about to make his life a little more interesting.  
And it wasn't the X-Men. Or Spider-Man.

It was Connie Alvers' getaway driver-slash-husband . . . who wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.

But he knew illegal activity when he saw it . . . and he wondered if he might get in on the action.

So he stopped the car and, pulling on a ski mask, joined the guy on the roof.

The Shocker wasn't expecting this new guy in greasy denim and Doc Martens. "Hey, I work alone, pal!"

"Two heads are better than one," his unwanted would-be partner replied.

"Not if one of 'em belongs to a complete moron."

"Hey, that's okay. I don't mind working with ya."

That infuriated Shocker. "Get out of here before I--"

"Chill, man, it was a joke."

"This is why I work alone!"

Back at the Institute, Peter felt his Spider-Sense going crazy . . . and when it was acting up like this, something big had to be going down.

Checking to see if anyone was watching him, Peter slipped into an alley and pulled on his suit. He fired off a thread from one of his web shooters, and swung into action.

He followed Shocker into the bank . . . and ran right into his accomplice.

"What the--?!!" they both said simultaneously.

The Shocker was not pleased to see his arch nemesis here, where he wasn't supposed to be.

"You little....!"

"Okaaay, just put the money down, and no one gets hurt." _Especially me!___

"Dream on, punk." With that, Shocker made straight for Peter's chest with a particularly high-voltage burst of electricity. Peter barely managed to leap out of the way of the blast.

"Stand still, you stupid insect!"  
"You keep him busy," Tony called out. "I'll grab the money!"

"Don't think so!" Spidey's web shooters shot out a line which snagged the would-be crook and left him stuck to the wall.

"As for you . . ." He turned to the Shocker. "There's a nice cell waiting for you back at Rikers."

There was a crowd starting to gather outside the bank . . . and when Spidey noticed them, he sighed. He hated this whole fame thing.

**Hated** it.

"Move along, folks, nothing to see here."

With that, Spidey left the crowd behind and headed back to the Institute, getting there just in time to witness an outdoor training session . . . that was going very, very badly.

"Where'd you go?" Scott asked Peter when he showed up.

"Um . . . I had to get some more film."

"I thought you were done," Jean said.

"I decided to get some file shots," Peter explained. "In case we ever do another story on you. Can I shoot whatever it is you're doing here?""We're **supposed** to be training," Wolverine snarled. "But some people have their minds on other things." He glared at Kurt, who had left the formation and was helping the twins build a sand castle."_Vas_?"

"You gonna join us," Wolverine said to Kurt, "or are you too busy building sand castles?"

"Sorry," Kurt said, and told the twins, "Ve'll have to finish zis later, guys."

Jared and John didn't even notice he was gone; they were too busy digging in the sand with their Bob the Builder shovels. Sand went flying everywhere. Jared took his Bob the Builder doll and dug in the sand with him.

As for Kurt, he rejoined the others, who were giving Peter a demonstration of their various talents. The most impressive was a kid who made a gigantic ice slide, gliding along it like he was on skates.

"What's his name?" Peter asked Jean.

"Bobby Drake," she told him. "He's new, but he's already making himself at home. Want me to introduce you?"

Peter's watch alarm beeped. He'd have to leave now in order to make it to the train station on time.

After a second or two thinking about it, Peter said, "Yeah, but you'll have to be quick. I have a train to catch."  
"Oh, it's okay, I'll drive you."

"OK."

After a brief chat with Bobby Drake, Peter followed Jean to her car. But they weren't alone.

Someone was watching them from a distance. "You're all in trouble now . . ." said the visitor, who then took off.

"You don't have a car?" Jean asked Peter.

"Not anymore." Peter sighed. "Long story."

Jean couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something about Peter Parker, something that made her wonder if there was more to him than met the eye. She hoped she'd be seeing more of him.

As for Peter, he had a good feeling about all this. If Mr. Jameson liked his latest work, he might be on permanent assignment here.

Connie Alvers, meanwhile, waited impatiently for her attorney to come back with news about the latest developments in her case.

Bobby Donnelly he wasn't, she thought sourly.

"You did **what**?"

"I cut a deal with the prosecution--" he tried to explain.

"What kind of deal?"

"You cop to accessory charges, and they'll drop--"

"Completely?"  
"I didn't finish. They'll drop some of the more serious counts against you."

"Isn't that good news?" Connie asked.  
"There's more."

"More?" Connie wasn't sure she was going to like this.

"They caught your ex-husband. He's telling everyone the whole thing was your idea."  
"He would, the--" Connie didn't want to swear in front of her defense attorney, though he'd probably heard worse. "Rat!" she finally finished.

Then she asked him, "Heard anything yet about my son?"

"One of our associates is on it. I should be hearing from him sometime today."

"I hope so . . ."

"Hey, Lance, there's a phone call for you!"

Lance warily picked up the phone. "Hello?"

A voice he didn't recognize said, "Lance Alvers?"

"Look, I don't want a credit card, I don't want to buy anything, so don't waste my time."

"I'm not trying to sell you anything. I have some important information for you . . ."

"You serious?"

"Yes, I am."

Lance gripped the phone tighter. Something was definitely unusual about this call.

"It's about your mother--"  
"My mother? What about my mother? They finally found her?"

"Yes, Lance . . . or should I say, Dominic?"  
Lance's mouth fell open. "How did you know . . .?"

"Your mother gave me most of the relevant details." the attorney explained. "She's alive? Where is she? Where has she been all this time?"

Lance hadn't thought he cared about his birth parents; if you asked, he'd say he was glad to be rid of them. But now . . . he wasn't so sure. 


	5. Security Breach

**New Branches**

**(Continued)**

Lance listened to the tale while he thought, _This isn't fair. They've been alive all this time and never checked up on me? How could they? What kind of parents just abandon their own kid like that?_

He wanted to curse them out, but what would that accomplish?  
So he kept listening . . .

Meanwhile, Peter and Mary Jane were developing the photos Peter had taken earlier that day.

"Oh, what cute babies!"

"They're twins." Peter explained. "For some reason, their dad didn't want me taking pictures of them..."

"Why? They're adorable!"  
"I guess it's a mutant thing . . ."

"Well, Pete, it's time people started getting over their—"

"Raging paranoia?"  
"I was going to say 'unconscious prejudices'," she corrected him. "Paranoia's going a bit too far, isn't it?"

"You obviously haven't read Mr. Jameson's latest editorial." Peter quipped.

"Like I'd read anything that--" she started to say . . . Then she remembered what her mother had said to her about watching her language and corrected herself. "Like I'd read anything he wrote. Face it, tiger, your boss is not only a bigot, he's a hack."

"Yeah, but he pays real money, and I need all I can get."

She hated to admit it, but Peter had a point.

Back at the Institute, everyone was talking about Peter's photo spread.

"When can we see it?"

"Probably won't be in the paper till tomorrow," Logan said. He just hoped the kid got the twins' names right.

The twins themselves, meanwhile, played on the floor. They were driving their Bob the Builder trucks around on the floor when someone stepped in their way and told them,"Hey, guys, easy on the furniture."

John and Jared weren't happy, but they did what they were told anyway to make their mama happy. So they abandoned the trucks and started playing with their stuffed dolls instead. Those, at least, didn't hurt anything.

"I should take them home," Mystique said. "It's past their bedtime."

"Go ahead," Logan said. "I got one more security check to do here. Shouldn't take long."

"Okay." She started picking up toys and getting their jackets out.

"Oh no!"

"What is it?" MJ looked up from the latest batch of pictures.

"I left my lucky pencil at the Institute!"

"A pencil?" She gave him a funny look.

"Not just any pencil! Uncle Ben gave it to me before my midterms in sophomore year. I only use it for really important tests. The rest of the time I just . . . kinda carry it around . . ." He knew that sounded stupid, but he'd never been able to express himself. Especially when it came to feelings.

But somehow she understood. "Go get your pencil," she said. "I'll keep an eye on this stuff for you. Are you taking the train or--?"

"Actually," Peter said, pulling his costume on, "I'm taking the rooftop express."

Meanwhile, Logan had started testing the new security systems.

And when he tested something, he really put it through its paces.

As he slugged it out with the perimeter guard droids, something new popped up on his right flank.  
Trust Xavier to throw a curve at you, he thought, and swung at what he thought was a drone.  
"Don't hurt me!" said Peter Parker.

"What are **you** doin' here?"

"I needed to get a pencil back. I dropped it when I was going home earlier . . ."

"Make it quick."

The tone of Logan's voice told Peter that he didn't want to linger, so he hurried around to find the missing pencil. Just as he'd thought, it was in the office.

After that was done, he was about to leave when he saw a door he hadn't noticed before.

_Danger Room? What's that?_

He tried the door . . . and found it open. So he went inside to check it out.

He'd never seen anything like it.

_Wow! This is really amazing!_

He jumped a bit when the doors closed automatically behind him. "OK, Parker, get a grip . . ."

Time to break out the fancy duds and do a little wall-crawling.

Suddenly a computerized voice said "Please enter authorization code now."  
Shoot! He didn't have one!

_Think, Parker, think!_

When the alarm went off, he knew he was in trouble.

At that moment . . . Pietro Maximoff had arrived.

With his stupid rabbit puppets. Which he used to act out a scene from "Romeo and Juliet".

Rogue wasn't happy. "That's it, Maximoff, you're dead..."

"Whaaaaat?" he asked. "I thought you liked my puppets!"

"NOBODY likes them." Mystique warned.

"**I** like them," Pietro asserted.

"Then you need professional help," Rogue said.

"I do NOT!"

"They're disgusting!"

"Look, I didn't bring the X-rated ones!"  
"That doesn't matter," Rogue said. "This house is a puppet-free zone!"

Pietro pouted. "Puppet-hater."

"Hands that touch puppets can never touch me," said Rogue teasingly.

"See?"Pietro said."She's a puppet-hater."

Just then, John and Jared made their feelings about the puppets clear by barfing on them.

"Hey!"Pietro protested.

"I think that settles the puppet issue once and for all," said Logan.

"Fine! I'll just take my puppets somewhere else!"

"Not if I can help it." Mystique grabbed all his puppets and threw them in the trash. "Don't make me search your room for puppet-making materials."

"Your mama's another puppet-hater."Pietro told Jared.

Suddenly an alarm went off.

"We got trouble."said Logan. "There's an intruder in the Danger Room."  
"How could anyone get in there without us knowing?" asked Rogue.

"Unless he was here already," Logan said. He wouldn't put it past that Parker kid to go snooping around where he'd been told not to go. "Let me go give him a talking-to."  
When he got down to the Danger Room, however, he was quite surprised to see . . . _Spider-Man? Where'd he come from?_

Spidey was just as surprised to see Logan. _Uh oh, I'm in trouble . . ._

He dived into a ventilator shaft . . . but Wolverine was right behind him.

And gaining . . .

_I hope this doesn't lead to the girls' shower room . . . that might be hard to explain._

He lunged through the opening ahead of him.

It wasn't the girls' shower room.  
What it was, was a garage full of all kinds of vehicles that Peter couldn't stop staring at.  
_Whoa! What is _**_that_**_?_

Before he could find out, he heard a growl from behind him.  
"Whoa! This isn't what it looks like!"

"I don't know who you are under the mask, bub, but I've givin' you five seconds to clear out, and then..."

"Hey, I'm one of the good guys! Trust me!"

"How come I don't believe you?"

"Uh . . . you really want me to answer that?"

Wolverine's claws sprang out . . .

"Okay . . . I'll prove it."  
He reached up and pulled his mask off.


End file.
